Tuesday, September 13, 2011

PTSD Kickin' in Again

There is a reason some troops miss being in a combat area and volunteer to go back again. In that situation life is boiled down to "cave man" level almost, you have no concerns about bills to pay, buying groceries, what to wear, car repairs, home maintenance, relationship issues etc. Your whole life is centered on staying alive, you run on adrenalin, even the military relaxes a lot of "standards" in war zones. They don't care if you shave every day or your uniform is wrinkled and dirty, boots not clean etc.

I am not one of those who miss it however I clearly see that side of it.
Back home most days we cope normal but sometimes little things pile up and you miss not being able to use a weapon to solve issues.
Sometimes little things set you off like the old lady you pulls out in front of you, making you slam on brakes and then proceeds to drive 15 mph or the wanna-be who works at the gun shop (you have all seen him) he carries the 1911, (cocked and locked) swaggers around and thinks he is an expert on everything and talks down to you.
More often than not you zone out little stuff like arguments over ball games, who cares, get a life people, is their life so boring they have to create things to argue about.
Our country is going to Hades and some want to worry about the NFL or college games. I dare say most Americans don't know the freedoms that have been lost in the last 50 yrs. You should be able to order a gun in the mail without filling out a form, where do we get off punishing a law abiding citizen for crimes we don't commit. If someone uses a gun to rob a store lock him up for a determined amount of time and if he does it again have a public hanging, I promise you he wont commit that crime again....ever.
Executions are 100% effective in deterring that person from ever committing crimes we as a society deem worthy of that punishment.
Our freedoms are eroded to the point we are required to wear seat belts, why stop there wouldn't we be safer if we also had to wear a helmet, I mean race car drivers do and it saves a lot of lives. I think maybe in the old west riders should have been required to wear a helmet on horseback. As soon as insurance company's decide it will save them money you will be required to mow your grass wearing steel toed boots, safety vest and hard hat, or wear a safety harness in the shower (bathtub falls are the #1 cause of deaths and injury in the house) When do we start realizing we are responsible for our actions and pay for out mistakes instead of making a law to "protect" others. I am sick and tired of all the regulations we have to endure just to try and live a normal life. I dare say we are under more regulations and taxes than our founding fathers were in their old countries they left to get away from.
I for one TAKE my freedoms back........free men don't ask permission. I will be in charge of my own safety. I will be a good Christian and a good citizen, I will take care of my family, I will look out for the weak. Calling 911 is a joke, the cops show up and put tape around the crime scene. I will live my life as a free man, I wont hesitate to help someone in need even if it violates some stupid law or code. I refuse cower to stupid laws passed by those only want to control every aspect of my life.
When you are dead and gone your grand-kids won't sit around and talk about how you always followed all the "rules" but they will brag about how you lived free. Am I the only one who feels this way ?.........should I take some medication and go sit in the corner and drool on myself ?, I hope not or else our future is doomed.

14 comments:

If you suffer much at all from that PTSD, I feel for you. I have a friend in your age group whose life is sometimes a living hell from that stuff. He has some other issues mixed in with it that only makes it worse.

Thank you sir for serving our country in the military. I feel the same way you do. Way too many stupid laws. In our state you have 10 days to change your DL over. Hell 10 days I still hadn't decided if we were going to say or move back.

I think I'm pretty lucky and only have issue once in a while in my sleep/dreams.

We try and adhere to all of the codes, procedures and regulations. That's where the law abiding citizen gets screwed over by the criminal element. Yet we are the ones who pay for it with more of the same restrictions. I suppose it's because we actually care, we just honestly don't count anymore.

Well said, not to be self aggrandizing but I came across a quote about such that I posted yesterday.

"Most civilization is based on cowardice. It's so easy to civilize by teaching cowardice. You water down the standards which would lead to bravery. You restrain the will. You regulate the appetites. You fence in the horizons. You make a law for every movement. You deny the existence of chaos. You teach even the children to breathe slowly. You tame.-The Stolen Journals - God Emperor of DUNE

As for the know it all at the gun store, I know how irritating I find them. I can only imagine how much worse it is for anybody with a CIB.

Thanks all for the comments, it revives some faith in our future.Matt, Thanks, I do fine just need to vent sometimes. Rev Paul, I too feel for 'Nam vets, they deserve lots betterRob's Rangers, That is the kind of stuff I meanMax, my point exactly, the law abiders pay for the criminals actions and they still are criminals.Odyesseus, good quote, we neuter our childrenAusprepper, That is one approach for sure.

if venting helps - vent away. i am enjoying catching up on your all of your posts!

i, too, thank you for your service. during my military career (CF), i spent alot of time TD'ing at a bunch of bases in the states and met all kinds of fantastic soldiers and heroes and you sound like one of them (and Stephen sure does think an awful lot of you. anyone that Stephen likes is a shoe-in for me!!!.

anyway, i have recently started a blog about our adventures in moving to our BOL. only a few posts up but we plan to update regularly. would love to have you pop over! we can be found at http://framboisemanor.blogspot.com/

About Me

30 years construction and engineering. Retired Navy Seabee/Combat Engineer. Combat tours Iraq.
I like machinery and like to work on old cars and trucks, Motorcycles, and guns. Scuba Diver.
Life member NRA.
Member of Combat Vets Motorcycle Association and VFW